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North Korea Rejects Chinese COVID-19 Vaccine

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North Korea Rejects Chinese COVID-19 Vaccine

About three million doses of a Chinese Covid-19 vaccine have been rejected by North Koreau.

According to UNICEF, North Korea suggested that the vaccine should be given to countries in greater need.

The impoverished North was the first country to impose a strict lockdown when it sealed its border in January last year to stop the virus from spreading from neighbouring China, where it first emerged before sweeping the world.

Pyongyang insists it has yet to see any cases of the virus — a claim that analysts doubt — but it has paid a huge economic price for the blockade, with the regime admitting in June it was tackling a “food crisis”.

Regardless, the isolated country told UNICEF — which distributes vaccines under the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access (Covax) programme for low-income countries — that the Chinese-made vaccines could be given to others, the UN agency said.

North Korea’s public health ministry “has communicated that the 2.97 million Sinovac doses being offered to DPR Korea by Covax may be relocated to severely affected countries in view of the limited global supply of Covid-19 vaccines and recurrent surge in some countries”, a UNICEF spokesperson told AFP.

READ ALSO: Amid Women’s Protest, Taliban Close To Forming New Government

Pyongyang would “continue to communicate” with COVAX “to receive COVID-19 vaccines in the coming months”, they added.

In July, a South Korean think tank affiliated with Seoul’s spy agency said Pyongyang had also rejected shipments of AstraZeneca’s vaccine offered by the Covax scheme, apparently over concerns about side effects.

The Institute for National Security Strategy added at the time that the North was not equipped with sufficient cold chain storage for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, while being sceptical about the effectiveness of Chinese vaccines.
AFP

 

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Grandchildren Abandon Nelson Mandela’s Mansion, Unable To Pay Bills

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The last place former South African President Nelson Mandela called home has been abandoned.

The mansion on 12th Avenue in Houghton was being occupied by his grandchildren.

They moved out after the power was cut due to unpaid utility bills.

The grandchildren say they are supposed to be paid by the Nelson Rolihlala Mandela Trust.

10 years after the statesman’s death, his estate has still not been wound up.

In an eNCA exclusive, senior reporter Silindelo Masikane sat down with Mbuso Mandela, who accuses executors of the trust of collusion.

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Ex-president  Jailed For Corruption

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Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz

Mauritania’s former president, Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, has been sentenced to five years in prison for money laundering and “illicit enrichment”.

Abdel Aziz led the West African country for a decade after coming to power in a 2008 coup and was an ally of Western powers fighting Islamist militants in the Sahel region. He had been on trial since January and denied corruption allegations.

The court found Abdel Aziz guilty of two of 10 charges late on Monday, following an inquiry into allegations of embezzlement of public property and corruption.

One of his lawyers called the ruling “a political verdict targeting a man and his family”. Prosecutors said the former head of state’s conviction was historic.

The court, which specialises in corruption and economic crimes, acquitted some of Abdel Aziz’s associates who had also been on trial, including two former prime ministers.

Abdel Aziz was succeeded in 2019 by a political ally, Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, who remains president, but Abdel Aziz’s government quickly came under scrutiny over actions including deals on offshore oil projects.

Abdel Aziz has the option of appealing his sentence at the Supreme Court.

Reuters

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Israel-Hamas Truce To Begin At 7am On Friday With First Hostages To Be Freed, Says Qatar

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Thirteen women and children being held hostage by fighters in Gaza will be the first to be released – as the temporary truce in Gaza between Israel and Hamas begins at 7am local time (5am UK time) on Friday, Qatar has said.

Dr Majed al Ansari, spokesperson for Qatar’s foreign ministry, said it had received a list of the civilians to be freed around 4pm local time (2pm UK time) tomorrow – and families would be given priority.

He said it was expected Israel would release Palestinian prisoners in return as part of the deal.

“We are hoping that we don’t see any further delays,” he said.

“I think we have reached a point now where everything is in place, we are ready to go on the ground.”

The deal, agreed following talks mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the US, will include the Red Cross visiting the hostages and bringing medicines to them.

It would also mean hundreds of trucks carrying humanitarian, medical and fuel supplies would be allowed to enter Gaza, while Israel would halt all air missions over southern Gaza and maintain a daily six-hour daytime no-fly window in the north.

Dr al Ansari said humanitarian aid would start flowing into Gaza as soon as the truce begins, adding it was “a fraction” of what it needs.

The ceasefire had been set to take effect at 10am local time on Thursday (8am UK time) – after six weeks of fighting.

The structured agreement was reached and confirmed on Wednesday morning, but more than a day later an expected announcement of the official start time had yet to materialise.

Asked about the delay by reporters at a news conference in Doha, Dr al Ansari said discussions had been “very difficult and detailed”.

“We wanted to make sure that nothing would cause harm in the process of getting the hostages out, and the perimeters of the agreement are agreed upon in the operational sense, on both sides,” he said.

He added the temporary truce includes a comprehensive ceasefire in both north and southern Gaza – and it was hoped it will lead to a permanent truce.

Hamas has agreed to free 50 Israeli women and child hostages held by fighters in Gaza, in exchange for Israel releasing 150 Palestinian women and children from Israeli jails.

Israel had said the truce could last beyond the initial four days as long as the fighters free at least 10 hostages per day.

A Palestinian source has told the Reuters news agency a second wave of releases could see as many as 100 hostages freed by the end of the month.

Both sides have said they will go back to fighting once the truce is over.
Sky News

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